Love Me
by NinjaButterfly
Summary: Sasuke leaves the village in order to get the revenge he has longed for so many years and Naruto goes into depression, wanting to bring Sasuke back home. What does Sasuke do when he finds out top secret plans to kill Naruto?
1. Prologue

OK... this is a rewrite of the old fanfic I had written. A few days ago, I reread over the fanfic and noticed that it was... kind of bad, so I started to edit it. Originally, I started to just correct misspelled words and punctuations, then I started to reconstruct a sentence, then a paragraph... then the chapter. Before I knew it, it was kind of a different fanfic, but not really, so to be on the safe side, I've deleted the old version and replaced it with this one. I hope you all enjoy this one and to those who may possibly like the older one better, my apologies. :( If you notice anything I should change in the story, message me and I shall correct it. Pointing out a writer's mistakes is what makes a better writer for the future, meaning (hopefully) better fanfics lol

DISCLAIMER: Even though it would be awesome... I do not own Naruto

-Rated M to be safe.

-Yaoi (Sasuke/Naruto)

-Character death

* * *

**Prologue**

I quickly sat up on the bed, trying to catch my breath. A trickle of sweat slowly ran from my forehead as I tried remembering how to breathe correctly. When I caught my breath, I slowly laid back down, but not able to fall back asleep. I stared at the ceiling of my room for about an hour, thinking of the horrible dream that woke me from my slumber, a dream I had, had a lot recently. My mind didn't really know how to take the dream; be fearful or fearless, be angry or sad, run away and be sad but live, or stay and be happy, but in return… death.

These "visions" always came when I fell into darkness about twice a week when it first started, but now it seems to take place almost every night. Every time, it's always the same thing, but switched out between two scenarios. But every night, it would have the same person in it… Sasuke.

Two years, four months, and eighteen days from today, my rival, my enemy, but most importantly, my best friend left our village of Konoha. Ever since he left, the dreams began, but I never knew what to think of them. They may be premonitions of what's to come, but I'm not ready to bet my life on it.

In the dream, it's always the same, just with different twists…

_I'm walking through the forest cautiously, looking for something… or someone. When I turn around, I see Sasuke standing there. We're not trying to kill one another, just staring. Slowly, we start approaching one another. We stop about an inch away. For a moment, we do nothing, just staring. Slowly, I lean forward and kiss him lightly, but he continues to do nothing. He stares another moment before saying one word, "run." So I do, run for my life, but saddened from what had happened._

_The other dream I have starts the same way. We meet in the forest and walk up to one another and stare for a while. Slowly, we both move in till our lips meet. We kiss passionately for a long moment until we have to part for air. We stare at one another for another moment, but his expression saddens as he slowly takes out his sword. I already know what's about to happen, but I don't do anything to try and prevent it… just stand there. We slowly move towards one another in one last kiss, one last embrace. I lay my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. A small wet droplet falls on my cheek as he raises his sword and I feel metal ripping skin. Before everything goes black, I hear three words I know I'll never hear, "I love you…"_

From those dreams you can clearly tell I love Sasuke, more than a friend. I've felt this way about him for a very, very long time, but the dreams still confuse me. The dreams make me sad, but at the same time make me feel… confident. Sad because, if one of these dreams do come true, I either get my heart broken or die, but also confident, because it's a good chance I will meet him again, one way or the other….


	2. Goodbye

**Goodbye**

"Are you guys ready?" Yamato Sensei asked as we prepared for yet another mission.

"Yes Sensei!" Sakura beamed, nodding her head once.

Sai nodded in silence and picked up his bag, being ready to go for the past ten minutes.

"Has anyone seen, Naruto?" Yamato asked, looking around for him.

"I'm here," I said glumly, leaning against a tree. "I'm ready."

I slowly started walking before everyone else did. Ever since Sasuke left and the dreams began, I've dead inside. Receiving missions, training, and everything else the old Naruto loved in life never got a response from me other than sadness and dullness. The Naruto everybody knew was buried deep within the empty void of his conscience.

Sakura sighed. "He's been like this ever since he's been having those dreams, and lately he's been having them more than usual," she whispered to Yamato and Sai, thinking I was out of hearing range as they followed behind me. "Has he told you guys what they're about?"

They both shook their heads.

"I think one of us needs to talk to him. This is getting way out of line," Yamato said and the others nodded.

"He hasn't acted like himself for at least a year. To tell you the truth, I'm starting to miss the annoying side of him. The one who use to get too excited for receiving a mission, always energetic to train and learn something new, the guy who would never turn down a bowl of ramen. He's not Naruto anymore. He's just a shell."

"Maybe Lady Tsunade can help," Sai suggested.

"I'll ask her when we get back from the mission, but I wouldn't count on it. This is something Naruto needs to figure out on his own," Yamato said.

We continued walking towards our designation. Our mission was pretty simple: go to the Land of Tea and deliver a top secret package to the leader, although there has been reports of thieves in the area plotting on trying to steal it and it's our job to ensure the package's safety.

"We should set up camp here," Yamato said a while late, stopping and putting down his pack.

We nodded and stopped, putting our packs down also.

"I'll go get some water," Sai volunteered.

"And I'll help put up camp," Sakura said.

Yamato nodded.

"The shell that is Naruto will go gather some firewood," I said in a dull, quiet voice. "You know, when you talk about someone, you should really make sure the person you're talking about cannot hear you." Without waiting for a response or an apology, I walked into the forest, looking for firewood.

They sighed.

"I didn't know he could hear us," Sakura said lowly, feeling bad. "I think we hurt him… more."

"We can't worry about that now. We need to set up camp before it gets dark," Yamato said.

Sai and Sakura both nodded and got to work.

"_If only they knew how bad it was for me right now… but I can't tell them… What would they think…?" _I sighed and continued to gather wood.

Before long, I gathered enough wood for the night and walked back to camp.

"Here," I said, dropping the wood beside the fire pit.

They all stared at me with cautious eyes, trying to see if they saw hurt in my features. I looked at them and stared. "What?"

"Naruto, we're sorry about what we said… We didn't mean nothing by it," Sakura apologized, frowning.

"Don't worry about it," I said, trying to smile. This caused them all to frown, obviously they saw through the forced smile.

"Naruto, do you… want to tell us what the dreams are about?"

"I can't," I said lowly, looking at the ground. "I know you guys must be thinking I'm losing my mind, letting a stupid dream have control over me like this, but it's more than that. I just can't talk about it… please."

"Naruto, we're your friends, you can tell us…"

"Sakura, I can't," I said a little more sternly while staring at Yamato making the fire, trying to close the topic.

"Come on! It's not like we're going to resent you for what it is!"

A low growl formed in my throat as I turned my gaze towards Sakura, glaring. "I told you it's not for discussion!" I yelled angrily.

Before they could say anything else, I stood up and walked back into the forest towards the sound of running water to get away. When I got there, I quickly shrugged off my clothes and slowly got into the cool water.

"Why do I love that bastard…?" I said quietly to myself, staring at my reflection in the water. "You think he loves you back?"

I slowly closed my eyes, trying to relax and clear my mind. Before I realized it, I fell asleep and like almost every night, I started dreaming… about Sasuke… the one where I'm actually happy. When the ending came, I quickly woke up, but at the same time dunked underneath the water, disabling me from getting up. Someone was trying to drown me.

I flailed my arms, confused, trying to do everything I could to get back to the surface.

"_I'm going to die…"_

When I thought I was definitely going to die, I felt the pressure on the top of my head disappear and I was quickly pulled from the water. After coughing up about a gallon of water, I looked up to see a blurry figure slowly coming into focus.

"S… Sas…" I stammered, not able to say the word.

"Naruto!" I heard yelling in the distance.

I looked in the direction of my name being called then looked back to look back at Sasuke, but as soon as he appeared, he was gone. My eyes widened slightly.

"_W… was he really here…?"_

"Naruto! What happened!" Yamato asked urgently, squatting by my side.

"S… Sasuke… was here," I said, breathless and still confused about the encounter.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Team, fan out and search the area," Yamato said quickly.

Sai and Sakura both nodded quickly and disappeared.

"S… someone tried drowning me… S-Sasuke saved me…" I stuttered.

"_He had to be here…"_

"Naruto… did you see who it was that tried drowning you?" he asked while helping me up.

"No…" I said lowly, just now realizing I had no clothes on. Pink tinted my cheeks as I quickly threw on my clothes.

"I'm going try and track them. Stay here until we get back. With that said, he quickly disappeared into the treetops.

Ignoring his request, I quickly ran off too, in search for Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" I yelled, looking around desperately. "I know you're here, bastard! Where are you!"

I concentrated, trying to feel any signs of his chakra. After searching for over half an hour, nothing. I'm this close to him and I'm not going to let him go! I continued searching until I collapsed to my knees from exhaustion and panting for air.

"S-Sasuke…"

I closed my eyes for a moment, hoping to open them and see him, like I did earlier.

"I want to see you… I want to touch you, so I know that you're real…"

"Naruto…" I heard a familiar voice say. I quickly opened my eyes and saw him.

"Sasuke…"

He slowly walked closer to me and stopped a few feet in front of me, staring.

"Wh… why are you here?" I asked.

"You don't want me to be? I'll take my leave, then." He smirked and turned around, staring to walk off.

"Why show yourself to me like this if you're just going to leave again?" I asked, looking at the ground with my eyes closed, not moving.

His smirk faded and stopped walking. Slowly, he turned and stared at me. "I have my reasons."

"Then tell me," I said, looking up at him. I stayed quiet for a long moment, taking in the site of the aged Uchiha. "The only person I could actually call a friend left the village and breaks me every time we meet one another and I try bringing him home, but every time we encounter one another, it ends in battle and with him disappearing again. And now you think you can just walk up to me, say a few words and leave again? Why did you come? Did you finally decide to come back to finish what you started?" I quickly stood up and walked over to him until I was about an inch from his face. "You have no idea how much pain you've caused me when you left and it's that much harder for me with every encounter. Because I try keeping my promise to you and everybody else, I'm broken."

Sasuke stared me in the eye for a long while before speaking. "It's your fault for making promises you can't keep."

I started to yell at him, but stopped myself. Instead, I laughed humorlessly. "I honestly don't know why I fell in love with you."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the confession and stared in shock, speechless.

"The reason I've chased after you all this time is because when I believe in something, I don't give up on it, despite how difficult it is. The innocent and young Naruto use to believe in fairytales. Sometimes, trying isn't good enough. It doesn't matter how much I try, I can never have the one thing I've tried so hard to fulfill, can I?"

Sasuke stared deep into my eyes and watched a lone tear slowly fall down my cheek. "A dream is just a fantasy. No matter how hard you try to make it a reality, there will always be those missing pieces that prevent them from being real. Nothing is ever perfect."

"If you believe that then why the hell did you leave? Do you think getting your revenge is going to be perfect for you? You kill your brother, then what? It's not going to bring your family back." I glared at him.

"You shouldn't talk about things you don't know about," Sasuke warned, glaring back at me.

"And you think you know my problems? The promises I made? You talk about dreams, but have you ever truly had one yourself to know from experience?"

"There's no need believing in the perfection that doesn't exist!"

"Believing in something is what pushes you to try making your dreams a reality! If you don't believe that, then what the hell do you plan on accomplishing from killing the last family you have?"

"A piece of mind!" Sasuke glared even more, right in my face. "Knowing I've ended the bastard who destroyed my life is all I need."

A dead silence fell over the both of us as we stared at one another, calming down.

"What about the family you have now Sasuke? What about them? You drive them away with your blood lust for revenge to avenge your family that's already gone. Sometimes you have to make the best with what you've got." I stared him deep in his eyes, trying to trace any sense of emotion at all.

"Then why haven't you given up on me?" Sasuke huffed.

"Because you're still here."

Sasuke grew quiet for a long time after that, thinking about what I had said. He walked over to me, stopping in front of me. Slowly, he raised his hand and touched my cheek.I quickly shrugged away, staring off to the side. Everything right now was becoming almost too much to bear. My mind had already been on the edge and I was going to fall completely before Sasuke had left.

"Naruto…"

"I want you to leave," I said quickly and held my breath. I closed my eyes and didn't dare to look at him again.

Sasuke froze and took a sharp intake of air.

"I want you to leave… and never come back. I want to stop hurting." A few tears fell down my cheek but didn't make an effort to wipe them away.

"Is that what you want?" Sasuke whispered. I couldn't tell what emotions were going through Sasuke, but I wasn't going to open my eyes to look.

"If you're not going to come home, then I want you to stop showing your bastard face to me. I can't live with the suffering you cause me."

For what seemed like five minutes, we both stood there, frozen.

"Then I guess… this is goodbye," Sasuke said, breaking the ice. "Naruto Uzumaki… I'm sorry." He bowed slightly and disappeared into the treetops.

"Goodbye… Sasuke."

Finally I opened my eyes and stared at the ground in front of me, tears flowing more freely now. Sasuke was now gone… for good. Everything said in our last conversation together was the end. Sasuke was gone and now the only thing I could do is try to move on. I _had_ to move on, but one question remained… could I?


	3. False Hopes

**False Hopes**

It's been four months now since my encounter with Sasuke and I still can't get over it. As soon as Sakura, Yamato, Sai and I got back from the mission, I shut down. Every day that passes, it seems my sanity slowly slips further and further away from me. With each passing moment I'm asleep, my dreams make sure I don't forget the raven-haired bastard. No matter how hard I try, I can't forget about him.

At least once a week, Sakura and Sai come to my home to check up on me and try to comfort me, but it's always a futile attempt and a waste of time. After they leave, you can see the worry in their eyes, or Sakura anyways, that they're afraid to leave me for the fear I might try doing something extreme. The thought sometimes crosses my mind, but is immediately washed away by the slim chance there's still a chance for me to see Sasuke again one day. One can never give up hope, or try not to anyway.

Lady Tsunade comes by every few weeks to check on my health, mentally and physically. Every time she's here, she demands I start eating more, since I hardly eat now. It's not that I'm trying to starve myself, I just eat when I'm hungry, which isn't that often. During her visits, she also tries getting me to talk about what exactly happened during the encounter, but I never answered her. I hadn't told anybody what was said. It's something I know none of them would understand and would just think I have lost my mind; maybe I have.

For almost three years, I have loved Sasuke Uchiha. He was always there for me in a way, and I wasn't bound to forget about the bond we use to share. Even though Sasuke ignored me and thought I was just an annoying pest most of the time, he was in some way always there for me. All those years I vowed to bring him back home, but every time I failed. Sometimes, you just have to call it quits and try to move on. Quitting was always one thing I would never accept, but you have to eventually realize you have to accept it and move on. Moving on is the one thing I can't grasp, though. Sasuke Uchiha will always haunt my mind with every sleeping and waking moment for the rest of my life.

Someone knocking on my door shook me out of my thoughts, which slightly annoyed me. Couldn't I just be left alone?

"Naruto?" a soft voice said from the door. It was Sakura.

"Come in," I yelled loud enough for her to hear.

The front door slowly creaked open to show Sakura and Sai standing outside. They both walked inside and shut the door behind them.

"Someone left another package at the doorstep," Sakura said, setting the package on the table.

"Thanks," I mumbled in response, watching her set it on the table.

For about three and a half months, someone had started leaving packages on my doorstep at least once a week. Some nights, I'd wake up and they'd somehow be sitting on the nightstand beside my bed, which angered me slightly. If someone's going to break into my house to give me a package, couldn't they at least show their face? Each package consisted of food, which usually consisted of packages of ramen. Even in a time like this, ramen always knew how to cheer me up a little. Another thing about them, no name or note was ever left with them. The packages only seemed to appear after Sakura had returned from a mission, so I dismissed it as her bringing them.

"Is there a name this time?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"Sorry," she said, frowning.

"Ah," was all I knew to say.

Sakura and Sai both sat down on the couch in front of me, making themselves comfortable. For a while, an eerie, uncomfortable silence sprang throughout the room. After sitting ten minutes in silence, Sai surprisingly broke it.

"I was wondering if you would like to train with me today Naruto," Sai suggested, looking over at me.

"I have no reason to train. Lady Tsunade won't allow me to go on mission in my condition, remember?" I said monotonously, staring at my feet.

Sakura sighed. "You really should get out of here for a while. Go for a walk or something… anything. It's not healthy staying in here all the time," she said, pursing her lips.

"Is it funny that I'd rather stay in here?" I asked, looking up at her with a blank expression.

She sighed. "Naruto you can't keep doing this to yourself. You have to get over what happened…"

"I'll get over it whenever my mind decides to forget it," I said with a tense voice. All fell quiet for a moment.

"Sai and I have a package to deliver to a village not too far from here. You should come with us and get some fresh air," Sakura suggested. "Believe it or not, we miss having you around, Naruto."

I sighed. "Sakura, I don't think_"

"It's non-debatable. You're going."

Another sigh. "Whatever." I walked into my room and got dressed in my normal wear but left my jacket unzipped. After grabbing my bag, I walked back into the living room where Sai and Sakura were standing by the door already and looked up at me when they noticed my entrance.

"Lets go," I said, shrugging past them and walking out the door before them.

We walked in silence through the village and towards the gates of Konoha. As we passed villagers, I watched from the corner of my eye at them staring at me, seeming to be surprised to actually see me. All the villagers noticed my long disappearance and saw the sorrow laced through my eyes but kept quiet.

For over an hour, I walked in silence, looking at the trees softly blowing in the wind and taking in every noise the forest made. Surprisingly, this made me feel more relaxed.

After delivering the package to the village, which was about a four-hour walk from Konoha, we started walking back towards the village but stopped about half an hour late.

"There is no hurry to get back to the village. I think we should camp out here for the night," Sakura said, looking over at Sai who nodded.

"I think it would be quite relaxing," Sai agreed, throwing his pack on the ground.

"I have no say in this decision?" I said, slightly angry at being left out.

"You're just along for the ride, so no. Besides, majority vote wins," Sakura said while setting her pack on top of a fallen log.

With a sigh, I threw my pack on the ground and sat down. Even though we hadn't walked that far, I felt every muscle in my legs and feet aching from the lack of exercise and neglect of eating.

"Alright, Sai, go get the water and I'll go find some firewood," Sakura instructed.

"Sai, get some water. I'll go get firewood and we can set up camp when we get back," Sakura said, leaving me out of the plans, once again.

"Hey, what about me?" I asked, anger and annoyance laced in my voice.

"Go relax. There's a natural hot spring close by that way," she said, pointing in the direction.

I sighed. "Fine…"

While the others went off to set up camp, I did what I was instructed to do. When I got there, I carefully took off my clothes and placed them on a rock before slowly stepping in the hot water.

"_At least this feels nice…"_

I slowly closed my eyes, letting the warm water do it's work on my aching body. At least it wasn't completely horrible, tagging along.

The calmness was quickly interrupted when the splashing of water alerted me that I was not alone. I quickly opened my eyes and looked around but not seeing anything other than small ripples in the water where something had slipped in the water with me.

Panicked, I started to get out of the water, but someone quickly covered my eyes and mouth with their hands and pulled me back down with them. My weakened body tried struggling, but it was no use compared to the other person, so I gave up. When the person saw I wasn't going to struggle, they loosened their grip slightly, even though it wasn't too tight in the first place; the hands were actually… gentle. They held me to their chest softly like I would shatter like glass.

After a long moment of either of us doing anything, I felt myself being blindfolded. I didn't struggle against it, knowing it would be futile and a waste of what little energy I did have. Carefully, they turned me around I I was facing them and slowly, almost hesitantly, took their hand off my mouth.

I held my mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out. I didn't scream because for some reason, I didn't feel threatened by this person. The person slowly ran a hand down my chest and stomach and worked back up to my neck and held it in a choking manner, but lacked any pressure behind the hold. What I felt next shocked me completely.

Soft lips ghosted over mine for a moment before enveloping my lips in a warm kiss. It took me a moment to figure out if this was reality or not, but I slowly started returning the kiss. As it continued, I felt a somewhat familiarity in the touch, the feel of their satin smooth skin, the feel of their lips on mine.

After the kiss, I felt the person's lips on my neck, placing soft butterfly kisses everywhere. My heart was beating fast by now and my breathing uneven. The lips slowly made their way back to my lips, where we kissed again, this time a little more passionately.

"S-Sasuke…" I breathed after the kiss, trying to catch my breath.

Slowly, I felt the blindfold being lifted off, but I kept my eyes closed.

"Open your eyes…." his soft voice said, rubbing his hand across my cheek.

"I'm afraid…" I said lowly, ignoring his request.

"Why?" he asked in the same tone, kissing my collarbone softly.

"I don't want you to disappear again… If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up."

I felt his thumb easily wipe away a tear that had formed in the corner of my eye and threatened to spill over my eyelid. Hesitantly, I slowly opened my eyes and saw Sasuke staring at me, sitting in front of me. He was really here.

He immediately crashed his lips upon mine in a heated kiss, but I quickly pulled back and stared at him. Ever since all of this happened, I didn't really stop to think about anything other than Sasuke being here right now, but now I realized how much of a mistake all of this was. This was going to hurt me now more than it ever has before.

"Why did you come?" I asked in a whisper, not trusting my voice to speak louder.

There was a long pause before Sasuke spoke. "Naruto I…" he paused again, thinking of the right thing to say. "You've came so far, Naruto. No matter how hard you tried, you never gave up. Why are you giving up now?"

"There's no point in chasing after a ghost," I said lowly, staring him in the eye.

He lowered his head and stared at his disfigured reflection in the water. "I didn't mean for everything to turn out into all of this."

"You may not have, but it did. And you failed to do anything about it," I said a little more loudly, not taking my eye off him.

For a while, he remained silent. "I know it's probably too late, but I'm trying now."

I laughed sadly. "You're _trying_? After all this time of pain and suffering you decide to jump in now?"

Silence.

"So tell me your plans on trying to make all this right… You pull all of this, toying with my emotions then you leave again?"

"I'm not toying with your emotions!" I said loudly, holding his head up, giving me a hard glare. His features softened as he realized his outburst. "This is me trying to do the right thing."

"The right thing? What is that to you exactly?"

He sighed and looked up at the sky. "I know I've gone off the deep end, Naruto, but I'm trying with everything thing I have to make things right. Everything I've done to you, you didn't deserve, and I'm really sorry I put you through all that. You've been the innocent victim your entire life and got everything you never deserved. When I left the village, you should have given up on me. I wasn't worth all this suffering you've endured. I know saying sorry means absolutely nothing, but I'm hoping my future actions at least make up for some of it."

"Future actions?" I asked, continuing to stare.

"… I can't tell you. At least so soon."

"What if it's already too late to try making amends?"

Sasuke's jaw line clenched and unclenched as he took in a sharp intake of air. He turned his head and stared me in the eye, his eyes actually sorrowful. "Is it?"

I stayed quiet for what seemed like forever as I thought about it. _Was _it too late? Would I regret it if I was to give him another chance?

"Does this mean you're coming back?" I asked lowly, staring at him.

"… Yes."

My heart skipped a beat and I forgot to breathe when I heard that.

"There's just something I have to do before_…"

I started laughing sadly, my heart sinking deep into my chest. "I should have known…"

"Naruto, it's not like that…" he said lowly and tried stroking my cheek again, but I turned my head away. "I just wish you knew what I was doing and why…"

"If you plan on not returning, break the bond now," I said sternly, staring him dead in the eye.

He reached his hand out and cupped my cheek in his hand. "I promise. But until then… live." And just like that, he was gone again. At least this time, I was left with one something… hope that he will in fact, one day return.

"_I'm holding you to that promise… Sasuke."_


	4. Living

**Living**

It has been a little over a month since the encounter with Sasuke, but I can't say what he promised has helped me that much. If Sasuke didn't return like he had said, that encounter would be the end of me. Everything he said, everything he did… it would be too much.

"_I can't believe I actually gave him another chance… Now I have to believe he's going to come back. It's all I have to hold onto."_

Ever since Sasuke had also kissed me, I had been in a state of confusion. Sasuke was so… passionate towards me, but why? I had told him I loved him, so did that mean he was toying with me and trying to destroy me because he knows this is the one way he can actually get to me?

If, in fact, Sasuke was doing this to try destroying me, it was going to work and he would finally succeed in destroying me. Even though he's a bastard though, I still don't feel that he could do something so evil. He had left with intentions of never returning and tried killing me on several different occasions, but I felt it was only a cover up to try scaring me away so he didn't actually have to do that. Maybe I'm just the love struck idiot that tries finding all the good in the person I love, but I believe under the cold skin he wears, he has the emotions we all carry.

The dreams I always happen every time I'm asleep now, but they seem more meaningful now. I still continue having both of the dreams, but they both have equal meaning to me. Something was about to happen, but at least I was finally prepared for what fate had in store for me. If one of the dreams comes true, I'm fully accepting it, despite which one happens. Either way, I was going to die anyway, emotionally or physically.

At least now, I'm trying to get better, since there is newfound hope by Sasuke's words. It's not going to happen in just a month, but I'm slowly making progress. My depression seems to decrease with each passing day and I have finally opened up to Sakura and Sai about what happened during the last two encounters, but still left the dreams to myself. When I first told them, I was afraid of what they may have thought of me, but fortunately they were there for me and didn't care about my decision. I'm just grateful that they have stayed with me through all this, or I don't know how I would be right now.

"Sakura, do you think Sasuke's going to come back?" I asked absentmindedly, staring into my bowl of ramen and looked up at her.

She stopped in mid-bite and looked at smiled softly at me. "For the years I have known Sasuke, I've never known him to lie, about anything. If he said he's going to do something, he's not going to give up on it," she said, not having to think about the answer at all. Since she use to love him, she knew almost everything there was to know about him, which sometimes I was grateful for.

I stared at her while she spoke and smiled slightly back. "Thank you."

She continued smiling and nodded once before taking a bit of her food. "Oh, by the way, I have an errand to run with Sai starting tomorrow morning. I thought you'd like to come with us."

I pondered on this for a moment. "Where to?"

"Sunagakure. We have to deliver a package that's medical-related. I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk to Gaara."

My eyes brightened. "Awesome! I haven't talked to Gaara in a long time." I knew the reason Sakura wanted me go was so Gaara could try cheering me up more, but I didn't say anything about it.

Sakura's smile brightened. "Great! Sai and I will be over in the morning to pick you up at sunrise."

I nodded, smiling. "Alright."

Even though it was a long road to recovery, maybe it wouldn't take as long as I expected it would. Seeing an old friend would help me take my mind off Sasuke for a little while and cheer me up a little. Now the only thing I could do, was wait.

The next morning, I awoke an hour before sunrise to take a shower and pack things I'd need for the journey. Even though Lady Tsunade still wouldn't let me go on a mission, it wouldn't hurt to tag along on a simple delivery. Due to my mental state, Lady Tsunade would have taken away all of my weapons, in case I wanted to try something "severe," but it wouldn't have really mattered either way and she knew it. If I had any intentions of killing myself, there were hundreds of other ways to do so without the help of a sharp piece of metal. Not like I had any intentions of doing it, anyways.

As soon as the sky started to glow orange across the horizon, Sakura and Sai showed up at my doorstep, waiting for me. After locking the door, I followed them to the gates of Konoha where we started our week-long journey.

For most of the morning, we all remained silent in our own worlds. I still felt quite groggy from waking up so early in the morning and I swear I fell asleep while continuing to walk a couple times.

When the sun was directly above out heads, Sakura started a conversation with Sai. A few times, one of them would ask me a question which eventually drew me into their conversation too. I wasn't talking as much as I use to, but I was slowly becoming my old annoying self again, very slowly.

During the remainder of the day, we took several breaks after walking in periods of three hours. All of the talking really helped me also and also made me lose track of time. When we stopped again, I looked at the sky and noticed the sun already setting.

"We should set up camp here. It'll be dark real soon," Sai said, tossing his bag on the ground. Sakura and I both nodded and followed suit. "Sakura, you stay here and set up camp. I'll go gather firewood and Naruto can get some water."

I nodded without complaining and started walking in the direction we came from, remembering there was a stream not too far away. After walking for only five minutes, I came across the stream and quickly started getting some water. Before I could finish, I heard a small twig being stepped on from behind and quickly spun around, trying to find what caused it.

"Hello?" I yelled into the bush and cautiously stood up.

"Hello…" a low voice said from behind, startling me. Before I could react, they grabbed me in a neck-breaking hold that was impossible to get out of and cut off my oxygen supply.

"If you try to scream, I'll make your life a living hell…" they said menacingly.

"Wh-who are you?" I managed to choke out while trying to pry his hand off my throat, but the man was much stronger than I was.

"I am from Akatsuki…" he said, putting less pressure on my neck. "If you try to run, I'll kill your dear friends along with you…"

I clenched my teeth together at the man but obeyed. "Don't hurt them…" I said lowly.

He smirked. "Good boy.

My eyes widened as I felt threads slowly piercing my skin and into my chest. I started to yell in pain, but the attacker held his hand over my mouth, preventing me from doing do. The only thing I could do right now if hope someone noticing I had been gone for too long and come save me, but I didn't know if I would last that long. Slowly, I felt the threads wrapping around my heart, constricting it tightly and slowly tugging on it, trying to rip it from my chest.

"_I guess this is the end…"_

At this very moment, I was one-hundred percent sure I was about to die. No one was around to hear what was taking place and with each passing second, I felt myself slowly losing consciousness. When I was about to slip into darkness, I heard the whistling of a kunai fly passed my head and made contact with skin… but I felt no other pain. I opened my eyes quickly when the person dropped me, threads still lodged in my chest. My head slowly turned in the direction the kunai was thrown and was surprised to see Sasuke standing over me, glaring at the attacker.

"I told you to leave him alone, bastards…" Sasuke threatened menacingly, pulling out another kunai.

"_Sasuke…"_

The guy slowly stood and smirked. "Heh, you actually caught me off guard Uchiha. Congratulations. This isn't over as of yet. Remember that." And with that, the guy quickly disappeared.

Before I could think of anything to say, Sasuke kneeled beside me and examined my wounds with a worried expression. "Naruto stay awake…" he said, slapping my cheek a few times easily.

"S-Sasuke… What's going on?" I asked lowly, not able to say anything above a whisper.

"Don't talk Naruto… I'm going to go get Sakura…" Sasuke quickly and turned around but was quickly tackled to the ground by one of Sai's beasts.

"What did you do to him Sasuke?" Sakura yelled, horrified at my wounds. She quickly ran over to me and started healing me immediately.

"S-Stop fighting… Sasuke didn't hurt me. He saved me…" I managed to get out. Sasuke quickly appeared by my side, staring me in the eye.

"Naruto, hang in there…" he said lowly and grabbed my hand, holding it tightly.

I stared Sasuke in the eye as I felt my eyelids growing more heavy with every passing moment. "Stay with me…" I said in a whisper before drifting off to sleep.

My eyes slowly opened, but I had to shield my eyes from the brightness of the sun. After my eyes had adjusted to the light, I raised my head and looked around me. Sakura and Sai were about twenty feet away, talking lowly at the base of the tree. I couldn't make out what they were saying exactly, but you could easily hear worry in Sakura's voice.

"Naruto…" a relieved voice said beside me. I slowly looked over and saw Sasuke sitting beside me on the ground, staring down at me. "Hey guys he woke up!"

Sakura and Sai quickly walked over to me and stopped about five foot away from me, staring.

"How do you feel Naruto?" Sakura asked, keeping her distance.

It took me a moment to remember exactly what happened, but I tried moving a little bit. I winced with slight pain in my chest, but it felt a lot better. "It's just a dull pain now." I looked back over to Sasuke and stared him in the eye.

"_He actually stayed…"_

"We should head back. The package can wait," Sai said, picking up his bag quickly.

"Wait… I need to talk to Naruto first," Sasuke said, standing up and offering me a hand.

"You're not going out of my sight Uchiha," Sai said sternly, giving Sasuke a glare.

Sasuke glared back. "If my intentions we to kill him don't you think I would have done it already?"

"It'll be fine guys," I said lowly with a small reassuring smile. I took Sasuke's hand and slowly stood up. Pain shot throughout my chest, but it wasn't unbearable to handle.

Sasuke and I slowly walked away from the others and walked to the stream where I had been attacked earlier during the night.

"What is it, Sasuke?" I asked, walking over to him after he stopped.

He unexpectedly turned around and pushed me against a tree and held me there, staring me in the eye. I was a little confused for a moment until he leaned towards me and kissed me. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, but quickly pushed him away.

"Will you _please_ tell me what the hell is going on?" I asked, slightly angry. The guy that Akatsuki member that attacked me was involved with Sasuke, I just didn't know what. Was it Akatsuki who tried killing me last month too?

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes with his head lowered. "I'm not exactly sure how to explain this, so I'm just going to be straight forward about it…" Sasuke began. "After I left you in the forest, I followed the Akatsuki member back to his hideout with hopes that he would lead me to Itachi. When I got there, I overheard them say your name… They're trying to kill you, Naruto."

As I listened to Sasuke, I felt all the blood drain from my face and I froze.

"I got angry and without thinking, I told them to leave you alone or I'd kill them all. Of course, they only laughed at my threat. They told me no matter what, they will not allow you to live. Naruto… they wanted to kill the demon inside you. I told them no matter what they did, I wouldn't allow them to do it, but they knew I couldn't kill all of them. Every day after that, I guarded around your home to make sure they didn't get to you."

I stared at Sasuke in complete shock. There were so many emotions overcoming me, I didn't know which one to react with first. "Why… why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I thought it would be best if you didn't know about it Naruto. I never intended to tell you unless it was a last resort, so here we are." Sasuke sighed and looked up at the sky.

"They were planning to kill me! Why wouldn't you tell me about that sooner?" I yelled angrily.

"Because I was trying to protect you!" he snapped back, now looking at me and sighed. "I never wanted anything bad to happen to you, Naruto."

"Is that why you left me? To _protect_ me?"

"You know why I left the village… With every encounter we had in the beginning, you made it so difficult for me to not take our battles too far." He laughed slightly. "But I always held back, making sure to never severely harm you but at the same time make it look as if I truly was trying to kill you."

I stayed quiet for a while before asking, "why?"

He sighed and closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I needed to get my revenge and I couldn't let anyone else come with me to too get killed by my brother, but the only way I could do that was to make it seem like I hated you enough to kill you. At the time, the only thing I thought of was killing my brother and to make sure he didn't kill anybody else. I didn't really care who I hurt emotionally in the process. But when we encountered one another a few months back… I couldn't stand the hurt in your eyes. I hadn't realized how much pain you were in and I have to admit, it caught me by surprise when you told me to never come back. You may have thought so, but I never had any intentions of disappearing permanently."

I stared at Sasuke in surprise as he continued talking, speechless.

"All this time, I've been watching your every move and keeping you safe." He opened his eyes and stared at me.

"You're the one who's been leaving me packages… aren't you?" I asked lowly. I took it as a yes when I received no answer.

"The reason I'm here right now though… I'm going to end this."

My heart skipped a beat after the words left Sasuke's mouth. _End it… _All I could do was continue staring at Sasuke, not sure what to do or what to say.

Sasuke slowly walked over to me until he was a few feet away and lowered his head. "I'm sorry I didn't realize everything sooner, Naruto. I've caused you so much pain… pain you didn't deserve. I wish I could have made your life better, and I could have if I opened my eyes sooner. All I ever did was think about avenging my family, only thinking of myself. I never thought about the family I already had." He slowly leaned into me until our lips met in a soft kiss while gently pulling me into his chest.

I closed my eyes and kissed him back. For just the moment, I tried forgetting about everything around us and the situation at hand right now. The only thing that mattered right now, was being held in Sasuke's embrace.

"I'm so sorry Naruto…" I felt a wet droplet fall onto the back of my neck as Sasuke held me more tightly.

"You were there for me more than you think…" I whispered. "My entire life, I have been pushed to the side, called a demon and been picked on… but you never did. You always tried outdoing everything that I did and always stayed by my side while we challenged one another. You may not realize it, but you were my first enemy, and my first friend."

Sasuke balled the back of my jacket into his fist. "I won't let them hurt you Naruto…" My ears filled with the sound of a blade slowly being pulled out of its sheath. I didn't try getting away from him for I understood everything clearly. He was saving me not only from the pain, but also from being tortured for what was inside me.

"Sasuke… I love you," I whispered into his ear.

More tears from Sasuke fell onto the back of my neck, soaking the collar of my jacket. "… I love you too." My ears filled with the sounds of ripping flesh as I felt the blade piercing my chest, accompanied by a searing pain.

No tears fell from my eyes for I now knew everything I wanted to know along with my wish being granted. I had finally heard the words I've always wanted to hear… Sasuke loved me, and I loved him back.

He slowly took the blade out and lowered me to the ground, staring me in the eye, saddened.

"I'll see you soon, Naruto," he said lowly, pressing his quivering lips to mine for one last kiss.

"Thank you…" I said lowly, my eyes getting heavier by the moment.

"F-For what?"

A smile slowly crossed my face as I stared into his eyes. "For loving me."

With that smile, I drifted into an eternal sleep, never to wake again.


	5. Eternity

**Eternity**

_Uzumaki, Naruto. 10/10/1993-18/7/2009_

_Uchiha, Sasuke. 23/7/1993-18/7/2009_

"Today, we all gather here to mourn the deaths of our fallen ninja, comrades, but most importantly our friends. They always fought with tremendous bravery and passion towards the enemy, never giving up. They risked their lives to protect our village, even though it meant self sacrifice. On July 17th, Naruto Uzumaki was killed, but his death was not in vein. He died to protect the village he fought to protect every day. Our friend will indeed be missed, but now he's where he deserves to be, where he's the most happy.

"We also gather to mourn the loss of Sasuke Uchiha. Even though he killed Naruto, it was all with good intention. I cannot say too much about Sasuke, because his words say more than mine ever could:

_A few months ago, if my name was brought up in the village, I would have been called a traitor. Today, I may still be called that. Call me what you will but today, I will finally let out the truth of my leaving of Konoha._

_As I left to gain power and to kill my brother, I was sucked into a plan far more important than getting revenge, the plot to kill Naruto. Akatsuki were after the Kyubi's powers, wanting to extract him from his body and use its power to destroy their enemies. _

_For months, I watched out after Naruto, ensuring his safety. I sneaked around everywhere he went, always keeping an eye on him, making sure he didn't suffer a horrible death that no one should ever have to endure, especially for him._

_When I found out about the plans, I knew I had to stop them from getting what they wanted, so I had no choice but to kill my love, to free him from the suffering he had to endure all these years from my departure and the pain that was to come. From the pain he was forced to carry because of me, he will never truly be rid of that, and this pains me to know so. No matter what happens for the rest of eternity, I will never forgive myself for what I have done._

_Even in my death, I still carry my burdens to the grave. If I hadn't been so selfish, I could have saved Naruto from his personal hell, and I was his demon. After my family was killed, I was never alone… I was given something better. I had Naruto. He loved me, and I love him, which brings me to why I'm writing this letter. These are my last words in this life. Spoken or not, these are my words of peace. From this letter I do not plan on having salvation, for I do not deserve it. The only reason for this letter is for the truth to finally be said._

_After I had made the decision to kill Naruto myself, I knew I wouldn't have been able to live in a life where he didn't exist, so I too decided to take my own life. Even if I don't make it to the pearly gates, I'll know no matter how much I suffer, I can't possibly suffer enough. This letter probably means nothing to most of you, I still feel the need for you all to hear the reasons why I chose my actions._

_I'm sorry for everything I have done to everybody, but most importantly, Naruto. Now that I have spoken what I feel needed to be said aloud, now I can look forward to an eternal rest with my love Naruto, who I shall love, forever._

"Sasuke Uchiha killed himself to not free himself, but to make it up to Naruto for all the times he wasn't there for him. As the days go by, we will always remember Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, who are now resting in peace with one another in the mighty heavens, happy for eternity."

* * *

I kind of didn't really know how to rewrite the ending, so I pretty much left it the same. ^^" For those of you who read, I hope you enjoyed! Till next time... peace out! ..\/, o_O


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